This invention relates generally to feeding systems for caged or confined animals such as poultry. More particularly, the invention concerns a feeding system in which feed is continuously agitated and intermixed during delivery and conveyance along a row of cages or other confinement structures, so as to encourage delivery of substantially equal amounts and kinds of feeds to each confined animal.
Large-scale poultry operations utilize sophisticated equipment for maintaining relatively large flocks of poultry in relatively large poultry houses. In egg producing or layer operations, the birds are normally confined in cages so that food and water can be delivered economically and in accurately rationed amounts, as well as at desired intervals of time. Moreover, these cages are generally constructed and arrayed so as to facilitate feeding, and, in layer operations, egg collection, by devices which travel generally linearly along linearly arrayed rows of cages. One particularly advantageous cage arrangement takes the form of linearly arranged cages stacked in a stepped-back pyramidal array, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,055.
When the birds are properly confined and fed, high flock performance levels can be achieved and maintained. For example, a maximum number of eggs can be contained from the laying hens while utilizing a minimum amount of food and water. Such considerations are important to the economic viability of a large-scale poultry operation.
The mechanized delivery of feed in such poultry operations is usually accomplished by a feed conveyor system having a series of feed delivery conduits and feed troughs extending past the face of each row of cages. Within these troughs and conduits are located feed conveyor or feed carrying elements, which may take various forms.
Some such systems use a helical, auger-like coil element of extended length as a driver element. As this helical or auger element is rotated, feed is moved along the associated conduits and troughs with an auger motion, but without axial displacement of the coil element or auger. Such devices are shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,918,405 and 3,893,423. Other forms of feed conveying devices have also been utilized in the prior art. In a variation on the above arrangement, a similar helical coil is driven axially, but without rotation through a series of conduits and/or feed troughs, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,894 to Swartzendruber. Advantageously, this arrangement permits the relatively flexible coil or helical element to be readily driven around corner, bends or the like so that a continuous or endless such element may be in effect looped around a path to deliver feed to oppositely facing or back-to-back rows of cages.
As indicated above, feed rations which are accurate and uniform both in quantity and quality are to be repeatedly delivered to each poultry-containing cage. That is, it is desirable that each bird receive a certain amount of each constituent in the feed mix, and that the amounts of each constituent are not varied excessively throughout the delivered rations. However, since the varying feed constituents have different sizes and masses, the heavier or more dense feed constituents will tend to fall to the bottom of the conveyor or trough as the feed is advanced. Likewise, the birds will tend to pick off the upper layers of feed from the trough, such that the lighter constituents may tend to be picked over by the birds at or near the upstream or delivery end of the conveyor system prior to reaching birds downstream.
Accordingly, two additional factors are also desirable in a delivery system. Firstly, the birds should be prevented from picking over the feed until the feed has been delivered throughout the row or rows of cages serviced by a given endless conveyor or conveyor loop. Secondly, the feed should continue to be agitated during delivery to maintain a relatively uniform mix of feed delivered to each cage, and prevent heavier or more dense constituents from falling into the bottom of the trough or conveyor.